


Line Without A Hook

by onacid, sabbathory



Category: Sally Face (Video Games)
Genre: Abusive Relationships, Drug Addiction, Drug Use, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, M/M, band au, don't read if you like him lol, travis is.....not good in this fic, will update with more tags later
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-01
Updated: 2019-04-28
Packaged: 2019-12-30 07:55:43
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,740
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18311420
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/onacid/pseuds/onacid, https://archiveofourown.org/users/sabbathory/pseuds/sabbathory
Summary: “You want a bump?” He asked, as if it were the most casual thing in the world. Sal swallowed around the dry lump in his throat and nodded. Things had been strained between him and his father ever since he’d been kicked out, and something inside him wanted to rebel. And this was the time to do just that, right? He was a third of the way there - he’d started his rock and roll band, now all he needed were the sex and drugs.-In which Sal, Ash, and Todd are in a band and Sal is an addict. I fucking suck at summaries. I'll probably update this later.





	1. built to crumble from the start

**Author's Note:**

> because i have no self control i'm starting another long fic instead of working on the one i've got started already, and of course it's a band fic! this time it's a collab between myself and my cute boyfriend, @onacid! we'll be switching off each chapter and switching POVs as well - i'll be writing from Sal's POV, and he'll be writing from Larry's. major warning for the whole fic for drug addiction and the dangers that come with that as well as abusive relationships.

**_July 8th, 9:37 PM_ **

The house was full. Sal didn’t recognize most of the faces filtering through the living room - he didn’t even know this many young people lived in town. Honestly, it was a little overwhelming. While he knew Ash could get carried away, he also knew she didn’t intend for this many people to show up. Word spreads fast, though, and when there’s the promise of an open bar and good music, people will show up

 

He was glad Todd had installed locks on all the doors to the bedrooms - and the garage. Their privacy was just as important to them as their band equipment was, and while there was an open-door policy between the four young adults, he wasn’t sure he felt the same towards the countless strangers in his new home. 

 

The party originally was meant to be a small get-together with everyone they knew to celebrate finally moving in together. After he’d gotten kicked out of Henry’s place, Sal had been living on the streets for a while, couchsurfing where he could and staying out all night where he couldn’t. It’d only been a few weeks, and more times than not he was sleeping indoors, but it was nice to have his feet back under him. Getting to live with his best friends and bandmates was just a plus. They’d been planning on living together anyways, but having Sal homeless kind of sped up the process. He was extremely grateful for all three of them.

 

Sal was snapped out of his thoughts by a tap on his shoulder. He’d been leaning on the wall, staring off into space with a cup of….something in his hand. He wasn’t sure - he never drank - but he was angry at his father, and when Ash offered to mix it for him, he decided to say fuck it for one night.

 

“Sally Face?”

 

“Travis?” Sal gasped, brows raising in surprise under his prosthetic. He’d never taken his high school bully to be the partying type. He looked way different. They’d been out of school for a few years, and Sal hadn’t seen him since. He’d willfully forgotten all the torment Travis had put him under for four years until now. 

 

Travis snorted, looking down and away. He looked good, Sal had to admit - no visible sign that he was still under his father’s thumb. He’d probably moved out too.  _ Well, good _ , Sal thought,  _ he’s probably gotten the help he needs, then.  _

 

“Yeah, long time no see. You wanna come out for a smoke? Doesn’t look like you’re having much fun in here,” He remarked, quirking an eyebrow. He was right, and a smoke did sound good, so Sal pushed himself off the wall and allowed Travis to lead him to the small back yard. The area was dimly lit with torch light.

 

Sal had assumed Travis wanted to extend an olive branch or something, but the taller man kept quiet as he fished two cigarettes and a lighter out of his pocket. Sal took one with a gracious nod and unclipped the bottom of his prosthetic to lift it slightly. He wasn’t too worried about his face in the dim lighting. He rarely did this, smoking in front of another person...But he was already kind of tipsy, and feeling reconciliatory. 

 

They smoked in silence for a good while, Sal finishing and crushing the butt end under his boot. He’d have to pick it up later, Neil hated when he did that. He didn’t notice Travis pulling more out of his pocket, but when he looked over he had his phone, a credit card, and a white-filled baggie balanced all in one hand.    
  


“You want a bump?” He asked, as if it were the most casual thing in the world. Sal swallowed around the dry lump in his throat and nodded. Things had been strained between him and his father ever since he’d been kicked out, and something inside him wanted to rebel. And this was the time to do just that, right? He was a third of the way there - he’d started his rock and roll band, now all he needed were the sex and drugs.

 

It was all done as soon as it began, Sal lifting his prosthetic more to expose his nostrils. Actually...doing it was harder than it looked, especially without an actual nose, but once he’d snorted the thin white line he tugged his face back down and reclipped the bottom strap. 

 

“Thanks, Trav,” He mumbled, hoping his voice wasn’t as shaky as it felt. He wasn’t sure how long it’d take, or how he was supposed to know when it was working, but he could see Travis’ hands trembling a little more than usual already. Or maybe they were just moving faster than usual. Sal couldn’t tell. 

 

Travis hummed in response, head tilted back against the wall for a few moments longer. He was staring off into space for what seemed to Sal an eternity, but suddenly his entire demeanor changed and he was gripping the shorter man by the shoulders.    
  


“I’m real sorry for how I treated you in school, y’know,” He said, eyes intense and searching. He paused, but not long enough to let Sal actually say anything. “Y’were always so nice to me. I was just a dick. I hope you can forgive me. I hope we can be friends. I’d really like to be friends, Sally Face. Here, lemme give you my number.” And he reached into Sal’s back pocket to take his phone. Sal was too taken aback to stop him or even respond. How had he known it was there?   
  


Had he been looking? A blush crept up his neck and he noticed just in time for his phone to be shoved back into his hands. Travis stalked off without another word and Sal stood there, speechless, until he realized his face was numb. 

* * *

 

**_July 8th, 10:06 PM_ **

His chest was light and his mind clear when he went back inside, looking for Ash. He wanted to tell her - everything. Almost everything. He wanted another drink. His mind raced and he didn’t realize he’d found her until he was already babbling to her about running into Travis. She listened intently as she poured him a drink, eyebrows raised. 

 

“Sal, I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to text him. He was horrible to you. He shouldn’t even  _ be _ here right now, nobody invited him,” She said, as if half the people there had been invited. Sal just shrugged and downed his drink, taking a moment before speaking again. 

 

“I know, but he really seemed to want to make things up to me. He shared his...Cigarettes with me.” No, he shouldn’t say anything about the coke. Ash would kill him, and he hadn’t decided if he liked it or not yet. He liked how he felt, but he wasn’t sure if it was the party or the drugs that were making him feel so bubbly. “He was nice. Don’t worry, Ash… I can take care of myself.”   
  
She gave him a look, but dropped it in favor of sipping her own drink and pulling him into the basement, where the music was loudest and the crowd was thickest. They spent the night dancing.

 

Sal decided in a moment of extreme clarity that he liked coke. He liked it a lot.

* * *

 

**_July 9th, 12:43 PM_ **

Waking up was harder than it should have been, but Sal wasn’t surprised. He didn’t have much of a tolerance built up for anything, having abstained from...pretty much everything he’d done the night before for most of his adult life. Once he’d cleared the sleep from his eye and shambled his way to the bathroom with everything he needed, he took a good long look at himself in the mirror. He was displeased to find he didn’t look as different as he felt. 

 

A shower and some time spent freshening himself up didn’t help the fog his brain was in, but that at least wasn’t anything new. He hadn’t felt as awake as he did the night before in a long time. He already missed it...But cleared the thought from his mind.    
  


As much as he might like to rebel, Sal Fisher was not going to become a junkie. He left the bathroom to the smell of breakfast and the sound of drums in the garage. 

 

Right - he’d meant to set an alarm for practice. Shit.

* * *

**_August 19th, 11:17 AM_ **

“You guys…” Neil began, almost yelling over the feedback from Sal’s last chord. “Can we talk?” 

Ash unplugged and set down her bass, leaning it against the wall, everyone going silent and gathering around the drum set. Todd ran a nervous hair through his hair - he probably already knew what this was all about. Then again, everyone had been able to tell something was up for a while.

 

“Yeah, what’s up?” Ash asked, tilting her head. 

 

“So...You know I’ve started up classes again with Todd...And you know this isn’t really my whole scene. I mean, don’t get me wrong - I love playing music with you guys. We have fun! I have fun with y’all.” He took a breath before continuing. “But I just...Don’t really have the time to be in a band. You’re all more serious about this than I am, y’know? You deserve a drummer that’s as serious about it as you are. I’m sorry guys, I’ll keep practicing with you until you find a new drummer and all, I just had to get that off my chest.”

 

Sal breathed a soft sigh out through his nose, unsurprised. Neil had joined more out of obligation than anything - it was pure coincidence that he had drum experience, sheer luck. He wasn’t into the hardcore scene the way the other three were. Didn’t have the same passion for it. And Sal would never be the first to admit it, even to himself, but it showed. 

 

“Dude, that’s not a problem at all. We’ll...Put up flyers or something,” Sal said, smiling warmly under his mask. He felt good, despite losing their drummer. He felt good a lot of the time lately. 

 

Todd simply nodded solemnly in response, Ash staying quiet for a few moments before striding back over to her bass. 

 

“Better make this one count, then, because we’re replacing you as soon as you leave the room,” She snarked, already plucking out the first notes of one of their most polished songs.

 

They played for what felt like hours, until Sal finally noticed his phone buzzing in his back pocket and excused himself. He fumbled to answer, hands shaking and bruise-like. Once he finally got it, Travis’ voice buzzed through the speaker.

 

“Sally Face! Y’wanna come over later? Got you something good, I think you’ll like it.”   
  


“...Yeah, give me like an hour. I’ll be over,” Sal said, nerves building already. He knew what Travis had for him - he wouldn’t be hanging around him if he didn’t. 

 

“Sweet. See you then.” And the line went dead. 

 

It wasn’t a habit. Sal wasn’t a junkie - he was just having fun experimenting. His mind had been opened at the party, and there were infinite options out there, things he wanted to try, things he didn’t  _ know _ he wanted to try yet. He wasn’t opposed to anything, though some small part of him knew he should be. He was too strong-willed to get addicted, though. He trusted himself to stop before it got too bad. And he actually liked getting high with Travis, not that he had anything to compare it to. He may not have liked what it usually came with - the sloppy sex that always felt more like a transaction than anything - but it was a small price to pay for what he got out of it. 

 

He didn’t know how long he spent standing there, staring off into space and trying to rationalize it to himself with his phone still in his hand. Ash finally brought him out of it, gently tugging on one pigtail until he focused on her. 

 

“You good? Kinda disappeared on us.”   
  


“Huh? ‘M fine, sorry. I got a call, kind of important. I have to go out for a bit, but I should be home in time for movies tonight,” He said, trying to sound lighthearted. He was excited, really, he just had a weird feeling. That’s all. 

 

“Okay, well, can you hang on for a few before you go rushing out of here? Todd already made the flyers, the sneaky bastard - he’s just gotta finish printing them and then you can put some up while you’re out.” She cracked a grin. “As payback for blue-balling us right before your sweet solo.”

 

Sal snorted and rolled his eye. “Yeah, sure. I need to shower and stuff anyway, I’m all gross and sweaty.”   
  


“Me too. Want a hug?”

 

“Yes.”

* * *

**_August 23rd, 2:25 PM_ **

“Are you nervous?” Sal looked over at Ash, who was clicking the ball of her vertical labret against her teeth idly. 

 

“Not really. I know you said you’d give that last guy a call, but we’re not gonna get that desperate. I just wish more people called  _ us,”   _ She huffed. She was right - only three people had responded to their flyers, and they’d practically plastered the town with them. The first two were mediocre, and nobody had high hopes for the third. 

 

“It’s not a big town, Ash, how many drummers do you think there are here? Plus, we still have time. It’s not like we’re booking any shows any time soon,” Todd said, spinning in his chair. He was tapping away on his laptop, not even looking up once. He was always working on something, tinkering with the coding of his music software or working on the band’s social media pages. Sal wasn’t really sure how any of it worked, but he was as instrumental to the group as anyone else. 

 

“Don’t say that!” Neil chimed in, sitting on the steps of the garage. “You guys are great and you’ll find someone great and you’ll book lots of gigs.” 

 

Before Sal could even open his mouth to respond, there was a knock on the wall. The garage door was open, and in it stood a stranger. 

 

“Uh, hey. I’m Larry Johnson, I called about trying out for drums today?”

 

_ Oh no, _ Sal thought,  _ He’s hot. _


	2. First impressions are everything, right?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _Brown eyes were still focused on the blue haired man before him. “You're great.” He said, blinking in shock as the words fell from his mouth without thought._
> 
>  
> 
> summaries are hard anyways here's Larry meeting the gang. In which he instantly is drawn to Sal and hasn't exactly figure out he has a crush and keeps staring at him like a weirdo.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm super excited to be working on this with my boyfriend it's like a dream. I hope you guys enjoy it and that my writing flows nicely enough.

**August 23rd, 2:30 PM**

 

Larry stood next to the opening of the garage door, taking a step inside. His hand reeled back from the wall and slid into the front pocket of his black and tattered jeans. He looked over the group, chewing on the inside of his cheek as if in thought. He'd just barely opened his mouth to speak again when he heard the woman's voice. 

 

“I think you'll have a hard time playing the drums from over there.” She had a friendly grin on her face as she motioned Larry over their way and towards the drums they already had set up. “You'll be playing for us on Neil's set today. Alright with you?” She'd motioned towards the man sitting on the steps who offered him a friendly smile and a wave. “I'm Ash.” She stuck her hand out for Larry. 

 

The tall man crossed the garage, standing in front of Ash while she talked. He gave a glance to Neil and gave a subtle smile to the both of them. “Sweet, thanks, dude. Makes it a lot easier than lugging my  own in and out of here.” Larry scratched the back of his neck, fingers threading through the long brown hair that fell over his shoulders and down to his back. 

 

The woman pulled back her hand and started pointing through the room. She pointed to a man sitting at a desk, red hair and tired eyes focused on the glowing screen before him. “That's Todd he plays keyboard when we have one wrote into the song. And is pretty much like our manager when it comes to anything we need sorted.” She pointed to Neil again. “Neil is our old drummer, he's also Todd's boyfriend. Sorry to break it to you that they're both taken.” She joked, gaining a chuckle from Neil and a quirked brow look from Todd who had just looked up from his computer. Ash's pointing then fell onto Sal, who stared back from a pretty expressionless mask.“And last but not least, we have Sophie, probably the coolest guitar player you'll ever meet.”

 

Sal shook his head, rolling his eye, even though the shadow from his mask made it kind of hard to tell, a bit harder to tell that he'd had a glass eye too. “It's Sal, actually.” He spoke, voice more masculine than Larry had expected after Ash's introduction of him. “Ash thinks it's funny when people think I'm a girl.” Sal had walked over and gave a playful punch to Ash's arm. 

 

Larry's gaze fell on Sal, eyes a bit wide when he'd heard the man speak. He laughed along with Ash, Todd, and Neil joining in as they watched the interaction go down. “Alright. Sal, Neil, Todd, and Ash.” He nodded to each one as he spoke. “And I'm Larry, just in case I didn't get that covered enough.” He reaches behind his back and retrieved his drumsticks that had been jutting out for the most part. “Hope it's not too weird that I brought my own.” With that, he tapped them together to make a small noise. “If it's cool with you guys I can get right into it?” While he was speaking he sat down on the stool behind the drums and looked everything over. 

 

“The floor is yours.” Ash gave him a thumbs up and stepped over to sit next to Neil. “If you want we can also show you some of our music and you can try that out after, see if you get a feel for the songs.” She shrugged, gaining a nod from Larry who started to play right after. 

 

The sound of symbols rang out a few times before the drums joined in, everything starting out pretty soft for a moment. He started to speed up his playing, seeming to be completely focused on the music. Larry bobbed his head to the beat as he started in with the bass drum, moving his foot at the same time.  He glanced up to everyone else and flashed them all a quick smile. One hand pulled back and he twirled the stick around in it while the other continued on with the music. After his small trick, he went back into his harder playing for a few more minutes, head shaking to sound sending his hair flying around wildly. Breathlessly he pulled back and pushed the messy hair from his face, several strands still sticking to his cheeks and forehead from the built-up sweat. He took a second to catch his breath and then looked to the group. 

 

“Well, that's me.” He laughed out a breathy sound and stood up. “It's not my own personal work, in case anyone recognized what band it's from. But, I thought it would give you a pretty good look at what I'm into. So...” He trailed off for a moment, then stopped to see if anyone had any comments to make.

 

Neil had started a small clap and Ash joined in, it was short but it brought a smile to Larry's face. Ash looked around to the other's and then back to Larry. “How about we try you out with one of our easier songs and see if you like it. It would suck if you ended up not liking our stuff after all.”  

 

Larry nodded along with Ash's words, glancing to Sal who had been quiet the throughout the exchange, which put him a bit on edge. “Yeah, totally. I bet your guys' taste is cool as hell. Let's try it out.” Todd got up and walked him over a sheet of music, pointing out the drumming parts. 

 

“Neil and I composed this together, Ash and Sal have their parts of this memorized already of course.” Todd had walked back to his spot and sat down. “You guys don't need me for this one so I'm going to keep working on this.” With that, he was back at work. 

 

Sal and Ash walked over and glanced at the sheet from Larry's hands to figure out which song Todd thought would have been the best fit for Larry starting out. Once they both knew what to do they grabbed at their instruments from their cases and took their usual spots. Sal checked over his guitar, making sure everything had been in working order and Ashley did the same. 

 

Once he seemed pretty set in knowing what to do Larry sat back down on the stool, keeping the paper close by if he ended up needing a reference. “Ready when you guys are.” He gave a nod and Sal glanced back and gave him a quick thumbs up. 

 

Sal started out first, playing for a few seconds before Ash joined in. Larry counted until it was time for him to start in and once he did Ash began singing. She swayed slightly while she played and sang. Larry looked from Sal to Ash and Ash to Sal a few times before closing his eyes and letting himself feel the music more. When his eyes opened again he had immediately look to Sal which wasn't that abnormal? Was it? He shook his head. Not at all, this person was new and interesting and seemed shrouded in mystery. So it was natural to be curious. Soon the music came to a slow stop and the long-haired man hadn't even noticed he'd started to space out for a moment. 

 

“We sounded so good!” Ash turned to the masked man, beaming with excitement. “We should play that one more often, I forgot how fun it is.” She then looked to Larry who was pulling hair from his sweaty face. “What did you think?”

 

Brown eyes were still focused on the blue haired man before him. “You're great.” He said, blinking in shock as the words fell from his mouth without thought. He immediately turned to Ash. “Your guys' music I mean. It's kickass, dude.” He smiled, wide showing the gap in his teeth. “Plus you both play so passionately.” Larry ran his hands through his hair and coughed. “Do you guys have water or anything here?” 

 

“I'll get you a  drink,” Neil said standing up. “By the way, you all sounded good.” He offered a smile as he headed in to get a bottle of water. 

 

Larry felt like his head was on fire for the few moments Neil was gone, unsure why he felt so anxious about this. Neil was back sooner than he thought and tossed him the bottle. Larry caught it and after a quick “Thank you man.” started to guzzle it down. He finished off the bottle rather quick and stood up, walking over to Ash, Todd, and Sal who had grouped around the desk and were chattering about their thoughts. 

 

“You were really good,” Ash spoke up once he approached. “we're gonna call you in a bit after we've decided if you'd be the best fit for us. So maybe a few days from now? Other than that, you seem like a cool guy.” She gave the long-haired man a slight nudge. “Maybe we'll see you around, right?”

 

“Right.” Larry laughed a bit with a small nod. He glanced to Sal, then to Todd and finally to Ash. “Thanks for this by the way. It was fun playing with you guys no matter what you decide and it would be cool as hell to see you around some other time.” Another smile crossed his face and he clacked his sticks together. “Well, I won't keep hovering around anymore so I'll head out and wait for your call.” 

* * *

  
  
  


**August 23rd, 3:12 PM**

 

With that Larry had headed out of the garage the same way he came in, his mind beginning to race as he walked out. Ash seemed instantly friendly, easy to get along with. Neil was kind and thoughtful and a fun guy. Todd seemed hard working, organized and nice. And Sal. Sal was... Larry couldn't put his finger on him. He was quiet, maybe that was his thing? He seemed super open with Ash and Todd? Maybe he hadn't left a good impression. He shook his head sending strands of hair flying around him. This wasn't a time to overthink things, besides it's not like it would be the end of the world if they didn't like him. It also wasn't like he needed to be in a band. He had a job, he also had other things he could focus on like his art. 

* * *

  
  


**August 23rd, 3:35 PM**

 

Larry reached home and decided to hop into the shower for something to do and to get all of the sweat he worked up off of his body. He hadn't heard from his mom all day and assumed she was busy with work. She always likes to keep busy so this didn't surprise him at all and he figured she'd give him a call once she was free. 

* * *

  
  


**August 23rd, 3:50 PM**

 

After his Shower, Larry had slid on some sweatpants and an old band shirt he'd had for a couple of years and laid back in his bed. It wasn't a particularly stressful day or anything but he figured a quick smoke and a nap would do him good before Lisa called to update him on her new ventures with her work and how everything was going. He leaned over the edge of his bed and pulled out a small wooden box, grabbing out a small joint and his lighter. Once he was set he put everything back and leaned back. He took a hit, waited and then opened his mouth to blow out the smoke. This continued for a while and soon enough he'd placed what was left in makeshift ashtray, or a soda can as most people would call it. It wasn't long after that he'd dozed off, snoring into his pillow. 

 

* * *

  
  


**August 23rd, 8:44 PM**

 

The sound of metal music started off from his desk, accompanied by a loud vibration of plastic on the wooden surface of his bedside stand. Larry groaned as he woke up, rolling over and grabbing at his phone to make the noise stop as soon as he could. He picked up without looking and gave a quick. “Hey, mom.” which was greeted by laughter. 

 

“I don't know if I like the sound of that, Johnson.” The familiar voice spoke out and Larry quickly checked the caller ID, he didn't have the number saved but it was vaguely familiar. That's when it hit him, this must have been Ashley. “Anyways, I was calling about the open spot...” She started and Larry felt dread in his stomach, preparing for a nice 'you're cool but you're not really what we're looking for.' And then. “It's not open anymore if you want it. We came to a decision a lot sooner than we'd thought.”

 

He was baffled for a moment, falling silent while he listened to Ash talk. He sat up immediately feeling more awake at the news, but just barely. “Really? Dude, hell yes. That would be fucking awesome.” His excitement practically cheered through the phone and made Ash burst into another fit of laughter.

 

She stopped laughing enough to respond. “If you keep that up you're going to give us all an ego. I gave Todd your number and he can text you about schedules and things whenever you're free to discuss it. Or we can all sit down like some stiff business meeting and go over what times are best for everyone. Your call. Anyways, I've got to go, but I'll see you soon.” 

 

Once the call ended Larry went through and saved Ash's number to make sure he'd know who it was. He honestly felt giddy, more than he had in a long time and he wasn't so sure why he was so excited about a pretty small garage band, but he was and he welcomed it with open arms.  

**Author's Note:**

> so..yeah! let me know what you think in the comments, and if you enjoyed it please leave kudos! my fanfic blog is sabbathory.tumblr.com so hit me up there if you've got any questions.


End file.
